Inbound
by KiranS
Summary: Alternate Universe, Wheatley crash lands on Earth and desperately wants to find Chell, but City 17 has just fallen. Unlikely allies appear to help him on his search for her during humanities fatal blow to the Combine. Discontinued until further notice.
1. Chapter 1

He had awoken. Well, not awoken. Rebooted?

Yes.

Why?

A short.

From what?

….He didn't know. Slowly, he opened his optic, blinking a few times through the thick and dusty air.

Wait.

There wasn't dust in space. At least not dust like this...

He was fully attentive now. His plates whirred and spun as he reconfigured himself, taking in his surroundings as the thick dust settled down.

_Oh. _

He had crash-landed back on Earth. He somehow managed to get knocked out of the moons immediate orbit and must have gotten pulled into Earths before hurtling through the atmosphere at 4000 degrees Kelvin. Of course, Aperture's equipment was well equipped for functionality at that temperature, and even beyond, although he was sure he wouldn't want to test that.

Stuck in a crater from impact with the ground, Wheatley could not see anything, having landed optic first. He could tell his lens was cracked, it was already before of course but now worse than ever; but at least he could see.

"H-hello? Is anyone there? Can anyone hear me? Hello?" he called out. Almost immediately he knew it was futile; what were the chances of anyone hearing him, or even knowing he was there? But it there was the slimmest chance maybe _someone _saw him, he was brilliantly streaking across the sky before he slammed into the ground, of course. But highly doubtful.

He waited a few more moments before calling out again, desperately trying to make contact with anything. He didn't want to be alone, but he knew his predicament was ultimately rusting and wasting away until something vital gave out and he ended. Really, in his opinion, he rather missed Space Core blabbing on and on about space; being alone was an option he didn't want anymore.

For hours he called out as loud as he could, used his internal radio to broadcast and receive frequencies to others, but all that came back was dead air, its static filling up his thoughts. Whether it be from something broken on impact inside him or he was too low to get and send anything he did not know. In the end he decided to just stop. He was wearing out his patience felt his heart sink (although he knew he didn't have one, humans had used the expression for feeling hopeless, right?)

After a few quick blips and whirs, he quietly went into hibernation until someone would wake him up.

His system picked up noises and put him in full alert. A window faded into his screen, chirping that he had been hibernating for 18 hours. He quickly waved it away and swiveled his lens around. He wanted to know what had jarred him from sleep mode.

Crunches. He heard the sound of feet walking on gravel a way's away, but close enough he could pick up on it. He was excited, he could barely stop himself from quivering with joy! But then he panicked; what if they completely missed him? He was _not _going to let that happen, no bloody way.

"HELLO? IS ANYONE THERE? I'M DOWN HERE, IN A CRATER! I CAN'T SEE YOU-CAN YOU HEAR ME AT ALL? Bloody hell...hello?"

The crunches stopped for a moment before turning in his direction, becoming a little more rapid in progression but not enough to be jogging. They had heard! He'd be saved from rusting for centuries and now he could-

"_**Aaaah."**_

His mind stopped, oh god they had _found_ him at last! The voice sounded extremely gravelly and low, undeniably males. Maybe even African American if he didn't know any better.

"Oh, man alive I cannot _tell _you how ecstatic I am that you found me; I thought I'd be out here _forever!_ I was starting to _lose hope_, I-"

He could hear the man taking long strides down to get him, and bits of gravel and rocks rolled down like a miniature avalanche and hit him as the stopped.

"Ow, ouch, okay, I- whoa!"

The man had stopped at him and pulled him out of the ground with surprising gentleness.

"Hello! Thank you for getting me out of there" he began as the man turned him to get a better look.

"I just wanted to- AUUUUGHHHH!" he screamed, his pupil dilating in fear as he faced _something._


	2. Chapter 2

"AUUGH! _What in the bloody hell-_AUUGH!".

The hideous _thing_ looked at him in surprise with a large, single eye with a maroon sclera and a heterochromic red-yellow iris with a yellow pupil, surrounded by three smaller eyes, dominating its face. When it opened it's mouth it revealed its frighteningly sharp teeth (but no tongue or teeth on the bottom jaw?) as it watched him, carefully holding it in it's claws. It had mottled green-brown skin that looked shiny and smooth, unlike anything he had ever seen in his entire time being an Intelligence Dampening Sphere.

"_**Calm yourself, metal sphere. I do not wish to cause undue alarm**_."

He stopped, his prerecorded huffs of breathing filtering through his speakers. His entire core shook and rattled as the thing examined him.

"What-who-how-are-_whaaat?" _he sputtered out, not able to comprehend what was going on. What the hell had _happened _at the surface while he was at Aperture? Were there more of these things? Would they kill him? Were humans gone _was this it what the __**hell **__was this thing?"_

"_**You and I are both confound with each others presence; I assure you that. My kin and I have heard your cries from afar.**_"

"T-there's _more _of you?" Wheatley choked out, still rattled.

"_**Just as there are humans. The Combine took over Nihilanth's world and fled to ours, forcing us into slavery. . Alas, we were found and enslaved by the Combine. We went into the dimensional rift to Earth when it had opened, formerly known as the Black Mesa Incident, to escape the Combines clutches...**_"

"Combine? Nihilanth?" He replied, no longer afraid. Rather he was intrigued by what the thing had to say. Obviously it didn't want to hurt him; it had been trying to rescue him.

"_**The Combine is a vast empire spanning multiple parallel universes, many unlike ours." **_it began, sitting down on ground before continuing. "_** The Combine expands its empire by invading worlds and enslaving the dominant species to be exploited as it sees fit, and is governed by a race of bizarre, artificially evolved Advisors from the Combine Overworld."**_

"Combine Overworld?" Wheatley inquired. He felt bad for asking, but it wasn't his fault that he didn't know. Did GlaDOS know?

The thing blinked. "_**You are uninformed of these things. I must inquire as to how you are ignorant to these events for the past two decades the Combine have reigned Earth."**_

He didn't know how to begin.

"I-I've been trapped, underground at Aperture for um, for a bloody long time. Stuck to a rail, looking after the humans, very boring."

"_**Aperture? **__**The**__** Aperture Laboratories?" **_it asked, it's eyes widening once again in surprise, leaning in for clarification._**  
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"Uh, yeah, I was made there. Look, see the little Aperture sticker on my front? Here, I'll stay still.." He watched the thing as if peered at the small circle bearing the logo, absolutely intrigued by it. "There's also a stamp inside of me, if you turn me around."

It spun him around in it's claws until it faced his back, awaiting further instructions.

"Now, if you look closely, there's a little latch in the back that should pop open. On the inside of the latch should have it."

Doing as it was told, it used a single claw to open his backside, revealing the Aperture Laboratories engraved on the inside.

"_**So it is true. Aperture technology still exists today." **_

"Why, yes, we're built to last centuries! Bloody unfortunate if you ask me, gets boring after awhile."

"_**You are an invaluable source to humanity. I must take you to the Freeman and the Alyx Vance at once."**_

Suddenly a thought struck Wheatley; he had forgotten all about it after making it to Earth.

"I'm sorry, I can't." he said, looking at the thing apologetically.

"_**You are troubled."**_

"I need to find someone."

"_**There are many people who need to be found. Many dead."**_

Wheatley winced, he certainly hoped not.

" I-i need to apologize for all the things I've done. For being bossy, and monstrous, and I am genuinely, _truly _sorry for what I did."

"_**You did none of these things to me. Apologize to the human when you meet."**_

"Yes, yes, sorry, I-i just needed to get that off of my conscience for a bit. A bit maddening after a while, all bottled up inside you."

The thing looked at him, and if it had eyebrows they would be furrowed, contemplating on what to do.

"_**Do you recall the humans birth name?"**_

"Chell. Chell. Her last name was redacted in the files, there was almost nothing on her except that her name is Chell."

" _**A vague chance of meeting her if only with a first name."**_

Wheatley felt the hopelessness sink back into him once again and his plates drooped as he sighed.

" _**A description would benefit us greatly. Perhaps my kin have seen her."**_

His optic spun quickly as his mind raced, _what if they _had _seen Chell? Oh if he had legs he would get on his knees and beg forgiveness, forgiveness for all that he has done, he was a horrible person and she deserved to be free and he deserved to be in space. But he had been given a second chance; he would not waste it. He would die trying to get to her._

The thing looked at him, as if to read his mind.

"_**There are many humans who can fit descriptions easily. Do not be too enthusiatstic."**_

Wheatley again felt at a loss, but he was willing to try anything.

"Okay, um, how do I do this.." he said, more to himself than to the thing. Quickly going through his hardrive, he found some recordings of Chell as they walked along the catwalk, escaping from GLaDOS. "Okay so, she looks about to be in her mid-20's, and um, lightish-brownish skin, blackish-brownish hair with some gray streaks..and greyish eyes. Kinda of on the shortish side. Quiet, has a bit of brain damage..."

The thing chuckled quietly to itself as at looked at Wheatley.

"_**We shall search for this woman. As for now, I must get you back to where we reside.."**_

It placed his top handle in the arm protruding from its chest and began to walk uphill, away from the crater he had made. Silence followed as he continued climbing up the hill, towards a lone tree at the top, and Wheatley, not used to silence, decided to ask what he had wanted to know the entire time.

"So uh, not to be rude or anything but I've never seen anything like you before, even in _space, _but anyways, um, what exactly _are _you?"

The thing looked down at him before continuing upward.

"_**My species are called Xenotherium subservilia, but to most, we are known as Vortigaunts."**_

"Vortigaunts.. " Wheatley mumbled back to himself, taking in the new term for this strange lifeform. "Do you mind the term Vort at all?"

"_**Most call us that for ease."**_

"I would think, Vort _is _much easier to say in a sentence, especially when you need help." he replied awkwardly.

The Vortigaunt nodded in response as they neared the top, and Wheatley could only imagine how retarded he sounded to the Vort. He _was _an Intelligence Dampening Sphere, after all. Not as if he could help it.

"_**I apologize for forgetting proper etiquette, I did not introduce myself.**_ _** I am Illya. As to what may I call you?"**_

Wheatley blinked a few times in surprise, not expecting him (he decided he would call the thing a him, he highly doubted it wouldn't be male) to actually have a name.

"I'm, uh, Wheatley. My names Wheatley."

Illya look down on him once more (really it freaked him out when he did) and grasped the trees trunk for leverage as he heaved himself off of the slope and onto flat ground once more, nearly dropping Wheatley in the process, who in turn let out a startled yelp.

"_**My sincere apoligies, I did not mean to startle you again."**_

"Quite alright, quite alright, It just hurts everytime someone fails to catch me." A pang of guilt hit him as he remembered what he had done at Chell when she confronted him.

"_ENOUGH!" he screamed, rocking voilently back and forth as the facility shook, explosions and debris flying everywhere."I told you **not **to put these cores on me! But you don't listen, do you?" he snarled, watching as Chell avoided the bombs he threw at her. "Quiet, all the time, quietly, not listening to a _word _I say, **judging **me, silently, the WORST kind."_

_Chell's eyes switched from anger and determination to sadness as she looked upon him, ducking and dodging._

"_All I wanted to do was to make everything better for ME. All you had to do was to solve a couple of hundred SIMPLE tests, for a few years, AND YOU COULDN'T EVEN LET ME HAVE THAT, COULD YOU?" he cried out, a fresh burst of anger flowing through him. Such a selfsih, horrible woman she was, trying to torture him._

_Something dawned on him as he heard GLaDOS slam insults at him. She had saved GLaDOS from being pecked by birds and went through every single test with her attached to her prong, silently planning to take him down._

"_You're in this together, aren't you?" he accused, swinging back to meet her gaze as he readjusted the shields to block the bombs she was redirecting to him. "You've been playing me the whole time, haven't you? First, you make me think you're brain damaged, then you convince me you're SWORN enemies with your BEST FRIEND over here, then, then, when I reluctantly assumed the responsibility of running the place, you CONVIENIENTLY decide to run off together! Just when I needed you the most!"_

_Her eyes flashed in disbelief as if to say "You lie." It made him even angrier, she didn't have the right to accuse him!_

"_You didn't think you were the first, did you?" _

_She nearly stopped in shock, looking at him with surprise, wanting to call bluff. It was exactly what he had expected._

"_HAHAHA, nonono! FIFTH! No, I lied, SIXTH. Perhaps it's best to just leave it to your imagination, what happened to the other five."_

_But she kept running, running just like she did when escaping from his grasp as he was about to kill her._

"_We've had some times, haven't we? Like that time I jumped off my management rail, not sure if I'd DIE or not when I did,and all you had to do was _catch _me, AAAAANND you didn't, did you?"_

_Another change of expression, too quick for him to tell. But he knew she remembered._

"_Oh, you remember that? I remember that, I remember that ALLL the time! And we could have talked our way out of it! Except you forgot to tell me that you MURDERED HER. And that She _needed _you to live. So the only available vent for Her rage,would be, good, 'ol CRUSHABLE Wheatley."_

_No response._

"_Yeah, little DETAILS that I remember. EASY little tidbits you could have used to save me from getting crushed, if you cared." he spat out venomously, almost sounding is if he was about to cry at the end. "Which you didn't, obviously. And still do not."_

_She redirected one bomb through her portal on out the other to hit him in his side, and he shrieked in pain._

"_AM I BEING TOO VAGUE?" he bellowed, sending bombs out furiously. "I. DESPISE. YOU. I **LOATHE **YOU, YOU ARROGANT, SMUGLY, QUIET, AWFUL, JUMPSUITED MONSTER OF A WOMAN. You and your little _potatop _friend. This place would be a TRUIMPH if it wasn't for you!"_

Illya shook him from his flashback and Wheatley looked up at him, startled.

"_**You have been quiet for quite a while."**_

"S-sorry, I was just thinking. Got a little carried away, I suppose."

Illya only nodded and continued walking. Wheatley didn't notice, but it was dusk as of now, slowly turning into night. A few stars shone brilliantly in the sky, and he noticed there was no moon. He shuddered at the thought, glad he couldn't see it, but he wondered how Space Core was doing. Probably saying hello to the sun again. And again.

"_**I did not know there was technology that could feel pain." **_Illya said, breaking the silence.

"I wish there wasn't. The scientists who made us were sadists, putting pain responses into us. Totally unnecessary, if you ask me. I mean, why on Earth would people want to do that? They told me I would bloody _die_ if I disengaged from my mangement rail, or turned on my flashlight, all of those things. I don't know even know why they bothered giving me all that stuff if I was going to die using it!"

"_**You say you are equipped with a flashlight, are you not?" **_Illya asked as they continued walking.

"Yes, yes I am. You know, I probably should have done this awhile ago. Here, let me turn it on.."

With a _click _his iris illuminated the area in front of them.

"_**The Wheatley has my gratitude, it is much easier to see the darkened path."**_

"No, no no, you have _my _thanks. I thought for _sure _I was going to be rusting in that crater for centuries before I would give out. I really cannot tell you how happy I am that you saved me, I absolutely have to find Chell. It's dire."

"_**When we rest I shall contact my kin. Then we may proceed. We shall try our best to find her."**_

"Thank you. Thank you so much." He replied, his shutter closing in relief. He knew he shouldn't get his hopes up, he could be on the other side of the _world _for that matter, but he felt it flood through his system anyways. That reminded him...

"Where are we, anyways?" he asked, looking up at Illya.

**EDIT: **Thanks 1nky, I totally wasn't thinking about that! Now changed.

_AN/_

_Uuuuh I would post these more often I just don't know where to stop to upload it. I write everyday so check back constantly for updates! Next chapter is going to be fun c:. Sorry they're so short!_

_-Kiran._


	3. Chapter 3

_Hey guys, just in case you're wondering, Illya is mine. He's not a real Vort in the HL universe, although that would be cool._

"_**We are located 23 miles from City 17." **_Illya replied, trudging through the unkempt grass.

"Where in the bloody hell is City 17?" Wheatley said. Didn't humans name there cities? Like Seattle and Sacramento? He didn't know they gave them generic names like that. It did make things easier, though. At least he thought so, anyways.

"_**Each of Earth's major cities are turned into capitals for the Combine. What is left of City 17 is unknown by name; I did not reside here when it was not called City 17."**_

"Ah." He said, understanding but still a bit confused. "Wait a minute, what do you mean, "what is left of City 17?"

"_**The Freeman has stopped Earths Administrator, Dr. Breen, from escaping to Xen. In the process he destroyed the dark fusion reactor." **_Before Wheatley could ask, he went on. "_**The Citadel is where the Combine forces are kept as well as Dr. Breen. In layman terms, one could say that it was a factory, shipping and receiving soldiers for battle against the Resistance."**_

Wheatley asked for the entire story instead of having it explained to him in bits and pieces.

"_**Black Mesa was delivered a sample of Xen's crystal from an unknown source, and Dr Breen, as of then, was the head of Black Mesa, willed them to test it in their Anti-Mass Spectrometer. The device **__**works by scanning a sample with oscillating electromagnetic fields and beams of high-energy plasma, agitating the exotic matt**__**-"**_

"Look, I appreciate the explanation of what the Anti-Mass thingy does, but I _really _would just like the bare bones of the story."

" _**You are right. When certain objects resonate too much, it can open dimensional rifts and portals. The crystal, highly unstable, resonated enough to tear a rift between Xen and **__**Earth, allowing us to escape from the Combine."**_

"Because you guys were enslaved by them, right?" He said, looking up at Illya for approval.

"_**You are not entirely correct. We have endured these chafing bonds for eons by Nihilanth, and when the Combine arrived at Xen, we fled to Earth for safety."**_

"So Nihilanth enslaved _you, _not the Combine?"

"_**Correct."**_

"Okay, go on."

"_**The Freeman had put the crystal in the Anti-Mass Spectrometer and escaped from the **__**chamber. The Eli Vance had sent The Freeman to the surface to get help, and The Freeman went through the entire facility, fighting many of us Xen creatures and military along the way.."**_

"Wait, hold on a minute, their _military?_ I mean, I understand him attacking you guys, I mean no offense but you _were _trying to kill him and all, but why the military? Aren't they supposed to help the humans?"

"_**They were sent to cover up the mess, killing anyone that knew about the project and cleaning up the mess they had made."**_

"Ah, okay, I suppose that makes a bit of sense. Wouldn't want the world to panic that an alien apocalypse is happening, right?"

"_**Alas**_,_**The small inter-dimensional rift causes P**__**ortal Storms**__** to rage across Earth, bringing large amounts of Xen wildlife to the planet.**__**"**_

"...Okay let's just go back to this, um, Freeman guy. So he was going through the facility, correct?"

"_**Yes. Encountering a team of scientists, The Freeman was told he could fire a rocket into the portal to prevent anymore of us from coming through."**_

"I'm guessing it didn't work, did it, because I mean, _you're _certainly still here."

"_**For one so ignorant, you seem to grasp concepts rather quickly. Yes, you are correct once again. The rocket launched a satellite though to be able to close the Portal, but Nihilanth, our leader, kept the portal open, and The Freeman portaled to Xen. **__**While our own lay scattered at **__**his**__** feet, **__**he **__**severed the vortal cord that bound the Nihilanth to life, and to us**__.__"_

"OOH! So he freed you guys when he killed the Nihilanth guy?" Wheatley said, livid with the fact he understood.

"_**The Freeman indeed freed us. His**__** song we sing and shall sing for eternity. No matter the consequences of this struggle.**__**"**_

"...Riiight. Okay so, even though he closed the big super Portal, the Xen monster thingys kept coming to Earth?"

"_**As I have mentioned before, smaller portals had opened on Earth due to the Super Portal. The Freeman only closed the Super Portal."**_

"Wait a minute, you said that he teleported into Xen, right? So if he killed Nihilanth, which he did, that closed the portal, didn't it?"

"_**Yes, The Freeman sealed off the gateway from Xen to Earth."**_

"So if he closed the portal, how the bloody hell did he get back to Earth?"

Illya stopped walking and looked down at him. Curious as to why he stopped, he met his gaze. The two of them stared for what felt like minutes (which he knew was only seconds) before Illya spoke.

"_**It is not of my knowledge. Only the Freeman and Him know."**_

"Him?" Wheatley asked as the started moving again. (Wow they had traveled far, he hadn't

been paying attention to his surroundings.)

Illya either had not heard or was ignoring him; he wasn't sure. It was probably a touchy subject, he presumed.

"Okay, so the smaller portals are still open and those Xen thingy's are there. Then what?" he asked, trying to break the awkward silence between them.

"_**Earth governments set up protection centers across the planet as they tried to deal with us Xenians."**_

"Didn't work out too well, did it?"

"_**It was a futile effort. The continuing portal storms and dimensional fluctuations attracted the attention of the Combine, who mount a full scale attack on Earth. In turn, what was formerly known as the United Nations declared war on the Combine. In a mere seven hours the Combine completely overwhelmed Earth's military forces and smashed all opposition, giving it the name of The Seven Hour's War."**_

"Seven _hours? _I though humans fought for years! Decades, even!"

"_**They were not prepared for such a massive force of overwhelming size."**_

"Bloody hell.." Wheatley whispered, looking down at the ground. He wasn't sure he could even begin to grasp the concept of the size of the Combine. He wasn't sure if he even _wanted _to.

"_**The Wallace Breen negotiated a surrender at the expense of humanity's freedom, and is appointed as Earth administrator, but is simply a puppet for the true ruler-The Advisors. Shortly afterward, the Eli Vance established the Resistance and recruited us Vortigaunts to join forces to over throw the Combine."**_

"I'm guessing the Combine still haven't been overthrown, am I right?"

"_**We have struck a mortal blow to the Combine not a day ago." **_

"_Really?" _Wheatley asked incredulously. He wished _he _could have seen it, it must have been a tremendous achievement. "Okay, but before you tell me, fill me in until now."

"_**For the next 20 years the Resistance grew, as well as Combine control over Earth. The Freeman came to City 17 little more than 12 days ago out of nowhere. Along with The Alyx Vance, The Barney Calhoun, and the Resistance, he managed to prevent The Dr. Breen from escaping to the Combine OverWorld and destroyed the Citadel in the process. The destruction of the City 17 Citadel has also caused the other Citadels across the planet to shut down. **__**"**_

"Soooooo...that's it? I'm all up-to-date with world events?"

"_**Not quite. The Alyx Vance and The Freeman were at the Citadel's base when it was to explode. In order to buy more time for themselves and more citizens to escape, they went into the Citadel's core to delay its inevitable meltdown, ultimately saving many lives. In the process, The Alyx Vance finds that the are working to open another superportal to call for reinforcements. They sacrifice the Citadel itself, using all of its energy, to send the transmission. **_

"Ooh, that's not good, not good at all. _Please_ tell me they stop them."

"_**Unfortunately, no. But The Alyx Vance and The Freeman have stolen a copy of the transmission packet containing the location of the Combine OverWorld and allows the creation of the superportal to be controlled from the other side."**_

"So we can hunt them down and murder them all, right?" Wheatley said, looking at Illya expectantly.

"..._**Did I not say before the Combine span in many parallel universes? Earth alone could never managed to put an end to them."**_

"But this Freeman guy went through an _entire _research facility with aliens and monsters, _and _managed to take down this Citadel thing."

"_**Earth's population has dwindled over the past two decades from Suppression Fields, making repopulation impossible until now. We would not have enough forces or weapons to take them on ourselves. The Freeman had help; and if Earth were to destroy the Combine Empire, Earth would need help also. But you do prove a valuable point."**_

Wheatley silently contemplated this as they continued walking through a forest (when had they gotten there?)

"So...that's it? What's going on now?"

"_**The Freeman and The Alyx Vance are proceeding to White Forest Base to close the Super Portal to stop the Combine from getting reinforcements. I have not heard any more news, since I have been away fetching you."**_

"How long did it _take_ you to rescue me? I mean, I was out for 18 hours, who knows what's happened since!"

"_**The Citadel exploded not too long ago. You can see it from here."**_

Illya released Wheatley from his third arm and firmly grasped him in his other two and turned around, lifting him above his head to see.

Silence filled the air as he stared at the-well, what used to be the Citadel. A monstrous blue spiral portal lit up the sky before him, he didn't even notice the bloody thing. Probably because he was facing in the wrong direction, but still.

"_**We are located far enough away that the initial blast cannot touch us, but will be close. Our camp has been taking the evacuated refugees from City 17 to White Forest. The Alyx **__**Vance and The Freeman saved many lives with their bravery."**_

"So where are they now?" Wheatley asked as Illya set him back in his claw and continued forward.

"_**I have just attended to the Alyx Vance. She suffered mortal wounds, dying quickly, and The Freeman and my kin traveled to the ancient mine which held the Antlion extract to save her. I helped stabilize The Alyx Vance as they stole the extract. **__**In order to resurrect **__**The **__**Alyx **__**Vance, The Freeman**__** participate**__**d**__** in o**__**ur healing**__** ritual wherein his life is "weaved" with hers in a pact .**__** "**_

"Ooh, he _must _love her if he goes through all that. I mean, why else would he do all that? Other people would have just taken the information thingy and _ran _like hell. They seem like a good couple from what you've told me. Wait, so when he weaved his life with hers are they kinda married now? ."

Illya smirked and was silent for a few moments before speaking.

"_**In a sense, yes. It depends on how the individual looks upon it."**_

Wheatley contemplated that for a few moments, letting his eyes wander around from the surrounding landscape before noticing a different shape from the trees around them.

"Oi, what's that over there?" he asked, moving his optic to the shape.

Illya looked to his right and made a sound of acknowledgment as he approached it. Studying it closer, he saw a crudely made sign with a spray painted image on it in yellow, a circle with a weird symbol in the middle.

"_**Aaaah, The Resistance have been through here."**_

"Really? Where are they? I don't see them." Wheatley said, looking around.

"_**Their presence is marked with the Lambda symbol."**_

"Is that what that thing is?" he asked, shining his flashlight onto the sign.

"_**Yes. It symbol that The Freeman bears on his hazardous environment suit."**_

"What's it mean?"

"_**There are many meanings behind the Lambda symbol, but in The Freeman's case it **__**indicates the radioacti**__**vy decay constant**__** in n**__**uclear physics**__** and **__**radioactivity.**__** This constant is very simply related to the **__**half-life r**__**adioactive material.**__**"**_

"Right. Half-Life. Got it." he answered. He'd have to remember that for later. If he even needed it.

Illya proceeded forward and reached for the handle and pushed the door open, sounding with a loud _creak _in response. Wheatley shone his flashlight inside the little shack (he presumed), and there really wasn't too many thing in there. A window with a simple tool bench under it, a few boxes labeled "SUPPLIES" and then another window to their right.

"_**We shall stop here to rest." **_Illya said as he set Wheatley down on the tool bench, right in the square of light so he could look out the window, the perfect view of the Super Portal.

He checked his internal clock to see how much time had passed. At that moment it was 10 AM, but it confused him. The sun was supposed to be out at this time, wasn't it? And if it was, why was it dark? (Besides the light from the Super Portal.)

"Illya," he began, watching as the Vortigaunt sat down on the dirt floor. "Why is it so dark here if it's 10 AM? Isn't that when the suns out?"

"_**It was, not too long ago. The weather has been off and on lately, changing from cloudy to sunny to fog and mist. It may have something to do with the Super Portal or the smoke from City 17, depending on which way the wind is blowing.**_"

"Aah, that explains a lot." He said, trailing off at the end, his focus now on the Super Portal.

Illya sat as still as a rock, and Wheatley wondered if he was okay. Maybe he was sleeping? He wasn't too sure. From the urgency in his voice, he had decided he was a pretty valuable piece of equipment. He hoped Illya didn't take long. He really wanted to see Chell.

Once again, he set his sleepmode on, and as he faded out into darkness, he heard Illya chanting to himself...

"_**Churr galing chur alla gung..."**_

Something was moving.

He opened his eye slowly, his system trying to catch up as it started back from sleepmode, his hardware whirring in motion. He figured it was Illya, telling him it was time to go.

"_**Chur lung gong chella gurr...**_

But it wasn't him. He was still chanting on the floor. He could hear little noises, tiny squeaks, in a repetitive call. But then something gave a high pitched, sharp shrieky squeal and landed on top of him, and all he could see was one long, spidery leg.

Looking up, all he saw was a massive hole with sharp, bloody teeth. He screamed.

"SOMETHINGS ON ME _GETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFF!"_

Illya instantly jumped up from the floor and a weird, green electricity came from his claws before arcing towards the alien thing on top of him. With a loud crackle of lightning the thing flew back and smashed into the window,dead. Yellow liquid was everywhere, dripping from the limp alien.

"W-what _was _that thing?" he asked, having rolled on his side from the impact. Illya picked him up to face the thing, and Wheatley responded with a small "eugh."

"_**That is a Headcrab, the weakest Xen creature left on Earth. It must have mistaken you **__**for someones head."**_

"What exactly does it do? Eat your brains? That'd be _nasty._"

"_**The Headcrab takes control of the host's nervous system and causes physical alterations to the host's body. The host then rips open its own torso for feeding purposes. You will be unlucky enough to see some when we head out in a moment; I must finish conversing with my kin."**_

"What? How can you do that if they're god knows where?" Wheatley asked incredulously. Wasn't he just talking to himself in some sort of weird language?

"_**Us Vortigaunts can communicate with one another telepathically. We speak with flux shifting; our native language is what humans call 'Vortigese.'"**_

"That's _really _cool. Kind of how like I can communicate to different people using radio frequencies?_**"**_

"_**Almost exactly. You are learning well in such a short time span. Now, please excuse me whilst I finish."**_

Wheatley watched with an intense interest as Illya sat on the ground, stock still and silent. Really, it was _amazing _to see such a creature who could do so many strange things; firing lightning from its two claws, communicating telepathically, having a third arm, really, he couldn't wait to see what Illya could do next. Wheatley waited patiently until Illya was finished.

**SORRY GUYS I LIED THE FUN BEGINS NEXT CHAPTER.**

_AN: Thanks for all the reviews guys! I'd just like you guys to know that I'm **always **working on this, I write the story everyday. I think I know where I'm going from here. And also, I lied, I was pretty sure the camp would be in this part then I figured "Eh, it's too early. Let this chapter explain the Half-Life universe for those who don't know it, like many say they do (I slaved 4 days for you guys!) Getting all the details right is very hard and boring to say, in the least. Also, this is located in the portalkink prompt, page 13 and I update it everyday bit by bit, so if you like reading short snippets but constant, the link is on my profile._


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